The Connection
by SingerMe
Summary: <html><head></head>Matt and Kitty have a connection.</html>


**The Connection**

I don't own these characters. I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had than that.

**CONNECTIONCONNECTIONCONNECTION**

DEAD

Matt Dillon was dead. Or at least he figured he soon would be, judging by the wound in his side. Looking down, he carefully removed the kerchief he had plugged into the hole. The bleeding had eased some, but he wasn't fooled. He was hurt bad and if he didn't get help soon, he'd be as dead as any man he'd ever placed on boot hill.

Laying his head back against the trunk of the tree he'd settled by, Matt closed his eyes, and tugged at the scarf around his neck, pulling it up a little higher. Late October and it was already as cold as winter. "If only I hadn't stopped." He thought.

Though his trip to Cimarron hadn't been a tough one, or even a particularly long one, he'd still been happy for it to be almost over. Just a few more hours, and he'd been home. Urging Buck along, he'd just decided he might make it back sooner than he thought when he spied the wagon ahead. Cautiously he surveyed the area around him. He didn't see anything, other than the seemingly empty wagon, but something felt wrong.

Pulling his gun from his holster, he slowly approached the decrepit looking conveyance. "Hello!" he called as he approached. "Anyone here?"

A rifle shot was his only answer. A shot that knocked him from his horse, canceling any plans he had for making it back early.

Some time later, he came to with a shiver of pain. His entire left side was on fire with it. Slowly he raised his head and opened his eyes. It was dark out and he was lying on his back on the ground. That was all he knew for certain, except for the pain. He knew that all too well.

Gritting his teeth, he steeled himself as best he could and pulled himself into a sitting position. It took a couple of minutes for him to focus but gradually it came back to him. The wagon was gone.

He remembered coming upon a seemingly empty wagon and calling out, he remembered nothing after that. Who ever had shot him apparently thought him dead. His horse and gun were gone but he had been left lying where he had fallen.

Carefully he'd examined his body and discovered a wound in his left side. It had been too dark to determine it's severity but by the feel of things at that point, it wasn't that bad. Still he knew he'd need to get it taken care of or it would get that way.

Slowly he had pulled himself up on his knees, then further up till he was standing. Looking above him, he figured out which way was south by the stars above him, and had struck off in that direction.

He had walked for what seemed like miles, but in reality wasn't anywhere near that distance. The pain came in waves, some intense, some tolerable but always there. As he walked, he focused on putting one foot in front of the other, nothing more. He couldn't afford to think of anything that would distract him from his goal of getting home.

But home was a distraction in and of itself. As he walked he thought about what that word meant to him. It was now more than just a place to hang his hat, or where people knew his name as he strode down the street. It was the place where his family was, or at least the people he considered to be his family.

Like Doc. Doc was the father he'd never had. Curmudgeonly and gruff and always sticking his nose into Matt's personal business, he was never the less the one man Matt would trust above all others, not only with his life, but the lives of the rest of his family.

Like Festus. He'd only been in town for a couple of years now, but already he'd proven to be true and valiant and trustworthy. Matt could trust him to not only help out at the jail but to work as a deputy if he needed it and to protect those he cared about.

Like Kitty. Beautiful and fiery haired with a temper to match, she was more family to him than anyone. The woman he could trust with his secrets, his sorrows, his joys and his triumphs. The one that made coming _home_ actually mean something. The one thing that actually made his job bearable and kept him going when nothing and no one else could.

And she was the one that drove him now. Placing the cloth back against his side, Matt forced himself back to his feet and continued walking. He still thought himself closer to death than life, but he refused to just give up. If there was any way at all to make it home, to make it to Kitty, he was going to do it.

But each step he took was agony and his breath became more and more labored, until he could no longer fight the encroaching blackness as it washed over him and drug him down into its murky depths.

"Matt?" Her voice was high and insistent. "Matt? It's Kitty. Can you hear me? Matt, wake up. Wake up, I say."

Feebly he raised his hand as though to swat away the noise. He didn't want to wake up, he'd found a peace here in the abyss and he didn't really want it disturbed.

But Kitty's voice wouldn't let him rest. "Matt? Come on, now. You need to get up. I know it's hard, Matt, but you need to get up. You're almost home, Cowboy. You're almost there. You can't stop now."

Matt opened red and swollen eyes and looked around him. Though her voice sounded close and insistent, she was actually standing some distance away, beckoning him towards her. "Kitty? Wha…" He swallowed hard to clear the dust from his dry throat. "What…?"

"I can't explain, Matt." She said as she continued to back away from him. "But you need to get up and come home. Come on, Cowboy. I need you. Do you hear me, I need you. Come on, Matt. Hurry."

Though he had no idea where he got the strength, he knew where the will came from and he used that indomitable will to force himself back to his sore feet and his screaming muscles to work to follow her as she led him forward, constantly cajoling and pleading with him to come. "I need you, Matt." Was her constant refrain.

Matt focused on that need, on her face and on the sound of her voice as he continued to put one foot in front of the other across the barren and cold prairie. But he didn't feel the cold wind, or notice how many times he'd fallen and gotten back up or scraped both his hands and his face. He only noticed the bright red hair and the beguiling voice of the woman he loved and he didn't stop until he suddenly heard Festus' voice.

"He's over chere! Hurry! I found em!"

Matt took yet another step but he tripped and fell. Forcing his eyes open again, he tried to regain his feet, but Festus gently pushed him down. "Stay still, Matthew. We got cha'. We gonna getcha back to Dodge faster you can say rat ran over the roof with a piece a raw liver in his mouth. I garontee it."

"Fes…tus." He croaked. "Ki…tty. Where…?"

"Don't you worry none, Matthew." Festus answered. "Just lay still and we'll get cha back to ol' Doc."

Matt tried to say more but he had used the last of his strength and his will could no longer carry him. Closing his eyes, he slumped senseless to the ground.

When he opened his eyes, he was in a meadow full of wild flowers, a swift moving stream nearby. His side didn't hurt as he pushed himself to his feet, but he hardly noticed. What he did notice was the beautiful woman sitting by a large oak tree on a blanket.

"Hello, Matt." She smiled happily when he approached. "I'm sure glad you made it."

Matt sank down in wonder on the blanket beside her. "What are you doing here?" He asked, as he took in her appearance.

"Waiting for you?" She answered, the smile never fading. "Well, we both are, actually." She stated as she pointed to the red head sitting beside the stream, bare feet dangling in the water. "She's been really anxious about you. She'll rest easier now, knowing you're safe."

Matt looked at the dark haired woman and smiled. "It's been a long time since I saw you last, Mother."

She nodded. "Yes, and it'll be a long time before you see me again." She reached over and lovingly caressed his cheek. "I've been with you many times without your knowing about it but this time was different. This time I needed you to see me, son. I needed you to understand how important it is that you hang on tight to life and to her. You understand?"

Matt shook his head. "Not really. I mean, we're both fine."

Reaching over, his mother gently kissed his cheek. "You will be, son, if you do as I ask. Just hold on, whatever you do. Now go on, go over there and take her hand and don't let go. Never let go of your connection to her, Matt."

"But, Mother…"

He started to protest but she shook her head. "Go on, Son. Go now."

Not understanding but not questioning, Matt rose to his feet and made his way over to Kitty, who smiled broadly when he touched her arm, and happily embraced him. Closing his eyes, Matt's smile broadened as he once again sank into the darkness and everything faded away from him.

The next time Matt knew light from dark, he found himself in Doc's back bedroom. Doc was sitting beside him, taking his pulse. "Doc?" He breathed.

"Well, look who's alive," Doc grinned. "Wondering if you were ever going wake up."

"Ki…" He licked his extremely dry lips and tried again. "Kitty, where is she?" After leading him across the prairie as she did, he wondered why she wasn't there when he woke up.

"She's resting," he answered after a beat. "Which is something you should be doing right now."

"Isn't... isn't that... what I've been doing?" He asked.

"No, you've been fighting for your life." Doc answered him. "You've been here for three days with a high fever and a seriously infected wound. I wasn't sure if you'd pull through or not."

"How'd…"

"Festus brought you in." Doc answered the unfinished question. "We had a fella come into the Long Branch, bragging about shooting you and how big a man he was."

"Who?" Matt asked urgently.

"Man called Gant. Something… Gant. I don't remember his first name."

"Ted Gant?" Matt asked. Ted Gant was the brother of the man Matt had taken to Hays to be hung.

Doc nodded. "Yeah, that's the name. Anyway, when Kitty heard what he was saying, she plied him with whiskey until he told her where he'd ambushed you and then she sent for Festus. He tried to take this Gant in but he wouldn't have it and Festus ended up shooting him. He then took off to find you. From what he said, if Kitty hadn't told him where to look…"

"Where's Kitty?" He interrupted Doc, no longer concerned with Gant. "She'd be here if…"

"Yes, she would." Doc cut him off. "But she can't. Not right now she can't."

Matt forced himself to sit up. "What's wrong?" He demanded. He didn't like Doc's answer and he sure didn't like the way he avoided looking at him. "She alright?"

"She will be." Doc answered a little evasively.

"Doc, tell me what's happened to her or I'll go myself." Matt's threatened as he tried to push the covers off of him and get up.

"Matt, you can't get up out of there. You wouldn't make the door. Besides, there's nothing you can do for Kitty besides get well. That's the only medicine she needs."

"Doc…" Matt's voice got lower and Doc knew he couldn't hide the truth from him.

"She's sick, Matt. Pneumonia. Fact is, she was sick when you left Dodge, but she was too stubborn to tell anyone. When she found out that you'd been shot and left for dead, she got worse. Right after Festus left, she collapsed and I wasn't sure if she'd even live. About three days ago she was as close to death as a woman could get and not take the plunge. Nothing I did was working."

"Three days ago?" Matt questioned, remembering Doc had said he'd been there about three days.

Doc nodded. "Yeah. I guess about the same time that Festus found you just outside of town here, I was wondering if I was going to be planning her funeral the next day. But for some reason, she started getting better suddenly. She's still a sick girl but she's a far cry from dead."

"Can I see her?" He asked, suddenly needing that more than anything else.

"No!" Doc answered bluntly. "You cannot. I don't want either one of you out of bed, do you hear me?"

Matt wanted to protest but as he looked up, he realized he didn't need to because Kitty had come to him. She was standing by the door, leaning heavily against it, face pale and devoid of makeup, hair combed but barely and nothing more on but her gown and a heavy robe. To Matt, she was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen.

Doc noticed his line of gaze and immediately got to his feet and rushed over to her. "Kitty! What in thunder do you think you're doing? Are you trying to kill yourself? You hadn't ought to be out of bed."

"I had to see him, Doc." Kitty answered. Her gaze never left Matt as she moved, with Doc's assistance over to the chair by his bed.

"Kitty…" Doc started to argue, but realized the pointlessness of it. "How'd you get over here anyway?"

"Festus." She answered before reaching over and taking Matt's outstretched hand. "He told me Matt was awake and helped me over here."

Matt gazed at her pale but lovely face and wanted to both slap and kiss Festus for what he'd done. "He shouldn't've brought you over here." He told her. "You look like about you're about to pass out."

Kitty smiled wickedly as she slowly got up from the chair and moved over to the other side of the bed. "Then I guess, I'd better lay down, huh?"

"Now wait just a minute!" Doc practically yelled. "Kitty, you can't… I mean, you're sick, Kitty. You need to be back in bed, YOUR bed, resting."

As she carefully lay down next to Matt, she gave Doc a smirk. "You should know by now, Doctor, that my bed and his is the same. For all practical purposes, I am in my bed."

"I give up!" Doc furiously scrubbed his mustache and glared at her and Matt both when he saw the smile on the lawman's face. Without another word, he just turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Both Kitty and Matt dissolved into giggles until it became too painful for Matt and Kitty began to cough. When they'd finally settled down, Kitty laid her head on the pillow next to Matt and laced her hand with his. "I was worried about you, Cowboy." She said softly. "I wanted to be over here so bad, but until today, I didn't have the strength."

"You still don't." Matt told her. "You shouldn't've gotten up at all, Kitty."

"I needed to be with you, Matt." She squeezed his hand as tightly as her weakened condition would allow. "I dreamed of you, ya know."

Matt looked at her curiously, an odd feeling of déjà vu overcoming him. "You did?"

Kitty nodded. "Un huh. When I was sickest. I dreamed I was sitting beside a pond and you came up and sat with me. There was a dark haired woman there, but I don't know who she was." She turned pleading eyes up to his, silently begging him to believe her. "I was dying, Matt. I don't know how I knew that, but I did. I didn't want to die, but I couldn't seem to do anything about it. But you suddenly started calling me. You were saying you needed me and then you were there, holding me, and I knew it'd be okay and I fought to keep from dying. For you. Does that sound as crazy to you, as it does me?"

Matt shook his head, remembering his own vision. "No, Kitty. It doesn't sound crazy at all. As a matter of fact it sounds more real to me than anything else that's happened since I left Hays to head home."

Kitty smiled up at him. "Home? You don't usually call Dodge home, Matt."

He nodded. "I know, but it is. Or at least as long as you're here it is." He kissed her on the forehead, not trusting himself to kiss her on the lips. Sick as she was and hurt as he was, he knew the both of them would want more should he do so. "I had a dream too, Kitty." He confided. "It was pretty close to yours. I heard you calling me, telling me you needed me. I was so hurt but I couldn't stop. As long as you called me, I knew I had to go. Pretty soon, I came upon that same woman you mentioned. Only she wasn't just any woman, she was my mother. And she told me to go to you and hold tight to you. In this vision, or whatever it was, I did just that. The last thing I remembered before waking up here was us holding each other."

Both of them lapsed into silence as they contemplated what they'd both experienced.

Finally, Kitty snuggled just a little closer to him, careful not disturb his injured side. "I don't know what really happened, Matt." She sighed. "But I know what it means."

Matt nodded. "Me too." He placed one more kiss on her forehead. "Means you're stuck with me."

Kitty chuckled before yawning heavily and closing her eyes. "We're stuck with each other." She said sleepily. "And I'm mighty glad we are."

"Me too. We have a connection." Matt answered as he too, wearily closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

An hour later, Doc found them lying side by side, fast asleep, identical smiles on their faces. Shaking his head, he took a good scrub of his mustache and then turned and left, closing the door softly behind him. Those two had a connection that he didn't fully understand and hadn't seen before. But it there, bright and true and he had a notion, that connection was what had saved them both.

The End


End file.
